SINGAPORE: CapitaLand has temporarily halted sales of two residential projects, a sign that the developer could be looking to raise prices down the road, analysts said.

The two residential developments are reportedly Marine Blue and Sky Habitat.

According to property agents, the developer started holding back sales of Marine Blue two weeks ago, while sales of Sky Habitat were stopped about a week later.

As of Jul 31, the 509-unit Sky Habitat had 99 unsold units, while the 124-unit Marine Blue had 53 unsold units.

This comes as developers postpone the next phase of their launches for several projects introduced earlier this year.

Both Lendlease and Qingjian Realty said that they postponed their launches as they expect the market to improve further next year.

Lendlease stopped making new units available at Park Place Residences, after its first phase of launch in March.

In response to whether the company plans to sell the remaining units at a higher price, a Lendlease spokesperson said: “The potential for long-term asset appreciation is very attractive and thus we believe that the future launch will better reflect the value that Park Place Residences offers.”

He added that the next phase of the launch will likely be in 2018.

Similarly, since launching Le Quest in August this year, Qingjian Realty has not sold any new units. The company said that more details of Le Quest’s phase two launch will be announced at a later date.

Guocoland also announced in August that it would cut back on sales of Martin Modern, which was launched in July.

Developers sometimes either freeze sales, or cut back on the number of homes put up for sale, as they revise prices upwards during a market recovery.

And while developers seem to be optimistic about the property market next year, Ms Tay Huey Ying, head of research and consultancy at Jones Lang LaSalle, cautioned against over-confidence.

“Even though sales volume is returning, buyers are still pretty price-sensitive,” Ms Tay said, adding that home prices would probably only rise moderately next year.

Source: CNA